JOMEL Adventures Positivity (def): "Anything other than being in the office."

We were catching up with and staying with my footy mate JLo in San Francisco and arrived late afternoon on Sat 10th May. On the drive we saw hills and hills of southern California covered in wind mills. They are enormous- so much bigger than we realized. It was quite a sight.
Sat afternon JLo gave us a little tour around San Fran through the Haight Ashbury region where there were lots of cool and interesting shops and even more interesting people some of whom walked and talked with us down the street for a good 5 minutes. We decided on Mexican for dinner and it was delicious, the Mexican I've had in Australia just doesn't even compare to the states, I can only imagine what it's like in Mexico!
Then we hit up a local micro brewery for a few bevvies and some chat. We tasted chilli beer which wasn't bad though not sure I could handle a whole schooner of it!
San Fran was a very cool city, different to most other American cities. There are hardly any franchises and fast food places, everyone rides bikes and there seems to be much more diversity in the food, people and interests of the locals. We really liked it. Down side is San Fran never gets much above 20 degrees celcius...year round! And these incredible fogs just sweep through the town most afternoons. Sat night night we all called our mums to say happy mother's day and touch base with home.
Sunday morning JLo and I went to mass at the famous Glide church. It was mother's day so the sermons were based a little around family relationships. There was a gospel choir and lots of hugging the stranger next to you. But we came out feeling very positive and ready for the day. Jo was still back at JLo's in her incredible comfy bed which she so generously sacrificed for us for the weekend. Thanks JLo!
Sunday afternoon JLo went to her wood working class and Jo and I headed to Alcatraz to what we thought might be an incredible cheesy tour. Turned out the tour was not cheesy at all and very well done. You walk around at your own pace listening to a portable voice recording with the narration done by some of the men who lived on Alcatraz. It amazed me to think non criminals also lived there. The guards families for one, their kids as well...that small island full of criminals was there home. Argh! It was cold there and windy- you can understand why it was chosen as a prison location...but it had a beautiful view of the city.
After the tour Jo and I wandered around Pier 39 aimlessly and joyously amoung the jossling tourists. I bought a San Fran beanie which has been needed many times since and we splurged on delicious strawberries and chocolate. Plus....more sea lions- they laze around on wooden platforms at Pier 39 in downtown San Fran for a couple months a year while tourists mingle around photographing them. A strange partnership but it seems to be working. We took a ride on the famous cable car and checked out Lombard St (the crookedest st in the world). It was a beautiful warm day for once so we thrived on being outdoors and doing the tourist thing.
Sunday night we had dinner at a great authentic Thai restaurant that did Sydney proud and met up with JLo in a seedy bar that had been recommended to us by a mate. JLo's flatmate even came out for one with us but we called it quits fairly early being a work day for those that have to work, and we had a long drive ahead of us next day.
In summary- we have great things to say about San Fran- just pack your woolies!